Graphic: British troops to return early from bases in Germany

British troops will return from their deployments in Germany earlier than
expected, the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has announced. Most of the
troops will leave the country by 2016, with the rest returning by 2019. The
troops will be redeployed to UK bases, with expected cost savings to be
spent on improved accommodation.

Thousands of new homes will be built, and bases refurbished, as troops and Ministry of Defence staff return to Salisbury Plain, Edinburgh, Catterick, Aldershot, Colchester, Stafford and the East Midlands.

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, announced that most of the troops will return by the end of 2016.

The remaining 4,500 will come back in 2019.

The Government first announced in 2010 that all 20,000 troops would return from Germany by 2020. However, today's disclosure marks an acceleration of the return.

British troops have been continually present in Germany since end of the Second World War.